


Synopsis: Pharaoh's Daughter

by dairesfanficrefuge_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Series
Genre: Meta, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-31
Updated: 2003-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-18 07:03:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11869095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist/pseuds/dairesfanficrefuge_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atDaire's Fanfic Refuge. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onDaire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile.





	Synopsis: Pharaoh's Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Daire's Fanfic Refuge](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Daire%27s_Fanfic_Refuge). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Daire's Fanfic Refuge's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/dairesfanficrefuge/profile).

Pharaoh's Daughter

**PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER**

Beautiful women seem to find their way magically into MacLeod's life even it takes almost 2000 years. Immortal Nefertiri must contend with massive culture shock after her extended sleep. Mac, ever helpful to ladies in distress, decides to instruct her in the ways of modern civilization. In the process, her primal passionate nature stimulates _his_ under-employed libido. 

_Yow-zah!_ Mac and mummy burn up the screen. 

Then comes the dilemma. Nefertiri cannot put aside 2000 year old hatreds, even though they are now irrelevant. She was Queen Cleopatra's loyal handmaiden. Constantine, her Immortal former lover, killed her beloved queen and now brings Nefertiri back to seek reconciliation. But to Nefertiri, 2000 years is the blink of an eye. She hasn't forgotten and she will not forgive! 

Is Nefertiri evil? Or is she merely a product of her time, unable to adjust to a new world after 2000 years of suspended animation? 

Is MacLeod capable of killing a woman he has loved? He did not kill Felicia Martins and he didn't even LIKE her. He was raised to protect and defend women (as well as occasionally use them for other purposes). 

The Highlander has his hands and heart full with this lady. 

And renegade Watchers still hover nearby...patiently waiting. 

**_New characters:_**

**NEFERTIRI** \- Cleopatra's handmaiden, Immortal, entombed in a sarcophagus for 2000 years, waking up to a world she finds impossible to accept. 

**MARCUS CONSTANTINE** \- Immortal, former Roman general, Nefertiri's lover. He is now a historian, leading a quiet life with the wife he adores. 

**ANGELA CONSTANTINE** \- His wife. 

**VICTOR BENEDETTI** \- Renegade Watcher, working as an aide to Constantine. 

* * *

Road, Outside Paris 

The theft of a truck,   
Not a startling event,   
What's unique about this one?   
Its special content.   
As it rumbles by Mac-   
He is preoccupied,   
But, the Buzz from it warns-   
There's an Immie inside! 

Mac follows the truck,   
He knows well the arrival-   
Of a brand new Immortal-   
Can affect the survival-   
Of his friends and himself,   
So, he'll go check this out.   
Who is this new Immie?   
What is he/she about? 

Warehouse 

The crate that was bound for-   
A museum collection-   
Has gone in a totally-   
Different direction.   
An unoccupied storehouse-   
Its ultimate stop.   
Mac surprises the thugs-   
Who are making the drop. 

Mac's fists do the talking,   
The thieves lie prostrate.   
The Immortal is locked-   
Inside of that crate!   
Mac jimmies it open,   
A sarcophagus concealed,   
Inside it...a mummy-   
From Egypt, revealed. 

Mac unwraps the gauze-   
Tenderly with great care.   
Two beautiful eyes,   
Then her body...quite bare.   
'I won't hurt you,' he soothes-   
As the strips lie unfurled.   
Her first words to him,   
'Does Rome still rule the world?' 

He calmly assures her-   
Rome's rule is long gone,   
Then gallantly gives her-   
His coat to put on.   
Her name's Nefertiri,   
Cleopatra's handmaiden,   
After two thousand years-   
With questions, she's laden. 

No longer in Egypt,   
Now in Paris, France,   
Mac hopes he can ease-   
Her abrupt renaissance   
On a walkway above-   
Someone scans the tableau,   
Mac sets off the alarm-   
Before saying, 'Let's go.' 

'It's a chariot,' Mac says-   
Of his car, black and shiny.   
'Then, where are the _horses?_ '   
'They are...inside... real tiny.'   
Victor, the Watcher-   
Watches Mac drive away,   
In the guise of the hunter-   
He's observing his prey. 

Museum of Antiquities 

'How could this _happen?_ '   
Constantine asks his aide.   
'Don't worry,' says Victor   
The claim will be paid.'   
'We won't file for insurance,'   
Victor's told by his boss.   
'The sarcophagus was _empty,_   
I suffered no loss.' 

'But the mummy inside?   
The handmaid, Nefertiri?'   
'There was _NOTHING_ inside!'   
Constantine sounds bone weary.   
Somewhere...she's alive,   
Who _knows_ what she'll do?   
Victor doesn't understand,   
But he does not have to. 

The Barge 

'All is _gone_ from me now,   
My home and my _Queen!_   
My world now is _HERE,_   
Teach me what these things mean.'   
Mac begins Show-and-Tell,   
A clock, lamp...the Dust Buster,   
Telephones, the newspapers,   
He attempts to adjust her. 

Paris, Around the City 

He escorts her inside-   
An expensive boutique.   
She's accustomed to others-   
Dressing her nude physique.   
The results are quite comic,   
Mac's completely beguiled.   
The world is a toy store-   
For this curious child. 

It has been a long time-   
Since he's had such a ball.   
Mac laughs as she tries-   
To make sense of it all.   
He's relaxed and at peace,   
Enjoying himself.   
Amused by the antics-   
Of this immortal elf. 

Museum of Antiquities 

Unpacking the crates-   
Of artifacts, Egyptian,   
Constantine informs Victor,   
'Each has a description,   
That makes it so easy-   
To trace. The thieves knew!   
But he doesn't see-   
Victor's Watcher tattoo. 

Paris, Around the City 

At the Place de la Concorde,   
A vision from home!   
The Obelisk of Luxor-   
Survived mighty Rome,   
'I used to see that-   
From my room!' She's aghast!   
Mac decides, she should see-   
Some remains from her past. 

The Museum of Antiquities. 

A lecture in history,   
The lesson _du jour,_   
Mac crams two millennia-   
Into one whirlwind tour.   
At La Salle Egyptienne-   
After some hesitation,   
Mac lets her go in-   
To revisit her nation. 

'Do they _know_ of her, Duncan?   
Do they recall her name?   
How she kept Egypt safe?'   
Mac: 'Yes, she's won fame-   
All know Cleopatra.'   
'She was beautiful and wise,   
Oh, would I could join her-   
Resting is Paradise.' 

Flashback, Egypt, 30 BCE 

Cleopatra lies stilled-   
By her own will, she died.   
Rather than Roman chains-   
She chose suicide,   
Nefertiri quaffs poison.   
Life ahead seems too cruel,   
'I will rest with my Queen-   
Till the end of Rome's rule.' 

Back to Present Day, the Museum 

Ancient Egypt is gone,   
She can't keep her illusion.   
In this new world, the Buzz-   
Now compounds her confusion.   
Rome's General Constantine-   
Whom she knows, hates and fears!   
'He's come for me, Duncan!'   
Then she disappears. 

Duncan steps in his path-   
Giving full name and clan,   
The wife, Angela-   
Comes to stand by her man.   
Constantine draws no sword,   
So, MacLeod goes to find-   
The elusive Nefertiri,   
What's troubling her mind? 

A Paris Arcade 

She's alone in the city-   
Looking frail-easy prey.   
A thief with a knife-   
Will soon have a bad day.   
He demands her fine necklace,   
She kicks him, and then-   
As his crotch flares with pain-   
She kicks him _again!_

Later 

Duncan searches for hours,   
But, he finds her at last,   
Near the tall obelisk,   
Her one link with her past.   
He's relieved that she's safe,   
His embrace filled with amity,   
'Who _was_ he?' he queries.   
'Marcus Constantine, my enemy!' 

'Once a great Roman general-   
Who made me defend-   
My Queen and my country,   
Now _YOU_ are my friend!'   
She raises her face,   
Her soft kiss, Mac rejects.   
'Why not?' 'Because loyalty-   
Is not bought with sex.' 

Her seduction continues,   
Such a consummate teaser.   
'This is _Paris,_ not _Egypt_ \-   
And I am not _Caesar!_ '   
'Duncan, I don't ask-   
That you die for me.'   
' _YET!_ ' He completes-   
Her words...mirthlessly. 

The Museum 

'Why? Victor,' asks Marcus,   
'Did you hijack that truck?'   
'If you're sure I am guilty,   
Tell the cops your bad luck!'   
'Your kind shuns police.'   
Victor taunts the curator,   
' _MY_ kind?' There's the Buzz!   
'We will finish this later.' 

MacLeod has come by-   
To see Constantine-   
And judge for himself,   
Is Marcus a fiend?   
Mac sees a man weary-   
Of slaughter and war,   
A student of history,   
He is killing, no more. 

'I watched as the Romans-   
Held the Empire enslaved.   
It flowered into grandeur,   
Its conclusion depraved.   
Now my mission's to teach.   
I intend to complete it.   
Those who forget history-   
Are condemned to repeat it.' 

'For centuries, I searched-   
To uncover the tomb-   
That held Nefertiri.   
I dared to presume-   
That she will adjust-   
After two thousand years,   
Putting old hurts aside,   
A new life, without tears.' 

'She once was my world,   
I could do her no harm.'   
(He adored her in Egypt,   
Spellbound by her charm.)   
'But country and queen,   
Were all she thought of.   
Now I have been blessed-   
With a wife that I love.' 

The Barge 

It's a dark, peaceful night,   
Nefertiri's alone.   
Victor climbs aboard quietly,   
When he sees Mac's not home.   
This disciple of Horton's,   
Ruins the lady's serenity,   
'I know _what you are!_   
And you're an _obscenity!_ ' 

'Three for one price,   
You, MacLeod, Constantine!'   
As he raises his gun,   
She becomes serpentine.   
With a swift, fluid motion-   
She maneuvers a knife-   
Thrusts it into his heart,   
A fit end to his life. 

Mac walks in and finds-   
A helluva fix!   
Another dead Watcher-   
For him to deep-six!   
He completes garbage detail,   
Then, in a firm tone,   
'Constantine didn't send him,   
Victor's views were his own.' 

Flashback, Egypt, 30 BCE 

The Roman invasion,   
Soldiers clash to the death,   
Nefertiri will fight-   
Till her very last breath.   
Forgotten the passion-   
Shared with Constantine,   
He fights for Rome,   
She'll stand by her queen. 

'Cleopatra is dead,   
She took her own life,   
I love you, Nefertiri-   
Come to Rome as my wife.'   
'You _betrayed_ me, she cries.   
Try and take me, you'll _die!_ '   
For her last act of service-   
With her queen she will lie. 

The Barge 

Mac: 'That's ancient history,   
He has changed, talk to him.'   
He seeks some accord,   
But, his chances seem slim.   
'You no longer serve-   
Cleopatra...she's gone'   
'Than who _am_ I, Duncan?   
How do _I_ carry on?' 

She pleads with her eyes,   
Her body, her smile.   
She awakens his hunger-   
That has slumbered a while.   
His mouth pressed on hers,   
His arms strong, yet tender-   
As he lifts her, she sighs.   
Victorious in surrender. 

Next Day, Near Darius' Church 

Nefertiri has agreed-   
To meet Constantine.   
He goes there with Mac-   
Past a familiar scene.   
'Darius and I often spoke,   
He was my good friend.   
We both renounced war,   
As a means to an end.' 

They face Nefertiri,   
She: 'What do you want?'   
He: 'Live, and be happy-   
Let us have a détente.   
Mac gently gives her-   
A sly verbal nudge.   
'Two thousand years-   
A long time for a grudge!' 

Marcus Constantine's Home, That Evening 

Marcus and Mac,   
Angela, Nefertiri.   
A nice friendly dinner,   
(At least, that's the theory).   
But, watch Nefertiri!   
The look on her face-   
She's removed from their world,   
She's apart, out of place. 

She helps clear the table,   
Speaks to Angela, alone.   
'I can see Marcus loves you.   
You're his world, he has shown.'   
Angela smiles with warmth,   
Never seeing the knife.   
Cleopatra's handmaiden-   
Takes a life for a life! 

Nefertiri deliberately-   
Walks past the men,   
Drops the knife, red with blood-   
On the table, and then...   
' _Live and be happy!_   
That is what you told _me!_   
You destroyed what I loved,   
Now a sufferer you'll be.' 

'AN-GEL-A!' Marcus wails.   
As he runs to his wife.   
He clasps her in vain,   
Tries to will back her life.   
Mac _blazes_ with fury!   
' _Get out!_ ' His heart torn-   
Then he pulls her away,   
Leaving Marcus to mourn. 

The Barge 

' _GET OUT_ of here!   
And out of my _LIFE!_   
You _USED_ me to murder-   
Another man's wife.'   
Hurling clothes in her face,   
'Your head almost went!'   
'Marcus would not kill me.'   
'It's not _him_ I meant!' 

The Cemetery 

By Angela's grave,   
Constantine shares with Mac.   
'I was wrong to presume-   
That when I brought her back-   
That she could forgive-   
And turn a new leaf.   
It was I who killed Angela,'   
Duncan echoes his grief. 

'And now?' queries Duncan,   
'I won't seek to avenge,   
It will not bring her back,   
There's no point to revenge.'   
As they leave Holy Ground,   
The Buzz warns-she nears!   
She still is at war,   
After two thousand years. 

Constantine is defenseless,   
Mac counters her strike,   
His lightening reflexes-   
Are a match for this shrike.   
'You loved, then _betrayed_ me!'   
'Never!' he swears.   
But he's trapped in the moment,   
Enmeshed in her snares. 

Storage Building for Statuary 

He must fight or die!   
She's controlling their fate.   
'How can so much love,   
Become so much _hate?_ '   
'You will not win, Duncan!   
You cannot take the head-   
Of one you have loved,   
Taken into your bed.' 

' _Can you?_ ' In his anguish-   
He steps back, heartsore.   
Her answer-a _thrust!_   
Her sword stabs his core.   
Evading the headstroke-   
His katana strikes true,   
She will rejoin her queen-   
As she so longed to do. 

The Quickening's reflected-   
In Constantine's eyes.   
As he relives their passion-   
Sorrow intensifies.   
Two loves he has lost,   
One ancient, one new.   
The fallout of war-   
Is hard to undo. 

The Barge, Later 

They stand in the bow,   
Staring down at the water,   
Each with unique memories-   
Of Egypt's fair daughter.   
Marcus tells Duncan-   
What Darius would've said,   
'You were not at fault-   
For taking her head.' 

'You had warrior's instincts,   
Bound to Immortal strife,   
When engaged in our struggle-   
Life will always choose life.'   
'An extraordinary woman,'   
Constantine eulogizes,   
'Yes, she was,' the Highlander-   
With heartache, realizes. 

Peace, Emit   
© 2001-2003 

**_Under the Kilt_ from Highlander: The Official Site: **

David Abramowitz, Creative Consultant   
'Nia Peeples was very sexy. I think there was so much heat on the set with her, that even the crew had to bathe.' 

**Don Paonessa, Creative Consultant, Post Production**   
'Interesting because of Nia Peeples, in this high, wide shot when she gets out of the sarcophagus, she drops her robe and she was naked and you could see in this wide shot that she really had her clothes off.' 

**Ken Gord, Producer**   
'I could have had Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was being pitched by our British casting director. But because she was with an agency that wanted more than what's called 'top of show,' which is the most I'd pay for a British guest star, I said no. I thought she was great, but I didn't want to pay the money because I didn't want to break my precedent and then have to raise my top-of-show. So I decided to instead go to my next choice, which was Nia Peeples. I think Nia did a terrific job, but there was a lost opportunity.' 

~ Legacy   
  
---


End file.
